This invention is directed to a cosmetic preparation, and in particular to a lotion or cream for application to the skin of a user to desensitize the skin and mask local irritation thereof.
In the personal care aspect of toiletry preparations, little, if any, attention has been paid to facilitating grooming procedures, such as mechanical depilation, including eyebrow plucking.
It is an acknowledged fact that pain perception and pain thresholds vary widely from culture to culture, and between individuals. Factors such as motivation are significant, and the fact of whether a hurt is self-inflicted or brought about by a third party all affect the perception of pain. However, despite the range of variation in pain perception, it is known that repeated acts having a small pain quotient for each act, with continuing repetition, produce sensitization to the point that further continuance of the act become very trying. Thus, in the case of a sensitive person having a low pain threshold, who is performing depilation by plucking their eyebrows, the sensitization that takes place as each hair is drawn or plucked can be such that completion of the operation becomes trying and perhaps even impossible.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cosmetic preparation for local application, in an anticipatory sense to offset and mask skin irritation and local pain induced by a voluntary grooming procedure such as mechanical depilation, including eyebrow plucking.
In addition to locally offsetting the effects of pain, the subject formulation creates a local change of circulation in the skin of the subject, at the area of application, to generate a localized sensation that can detract from the instantaneous pain sensation resulting from plucking individual hairs.
The prior art is apparently quite silent in respect of formulations which have a skin desensitizing function, or it fails to express any concern as to the prospective pain that may be produced during eyebrow plucking. For example, DUNN, U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,346, issued May 23, 1972, provides a pair of eyebrow tweezers whose sole function is to be usable by persons wearing eyeglasses while at the same time plucking their eyebrows. The patent recognizes that persons having poor eyesight but desiring to pluck their eyebrows had hitherto encountered difficulties, which were said to be overcome by the geometry of the tweezer being provided. However, the patent is entirely silent as to the question of pain that may be created as the individual hairs to be plucked from the eyebrows are physically removed.
BROWN et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,653, issued May 25, 1982 provide a composition for a topical cream, which is a styptic composition that is also said to be substantially a non-sting composition. In other words, that composition has as its primary purpose that intent to stop localized bleeding without irritating the area surrounding the wound, while at the same time providing a lotion or cream having the desired non-sting but styptic characteristics. That formulation, however, does not provide a skin desensitizing effect, which effect is a desired precondition to the plucking of one's eyebrows or other mechanical depilation.
Thus, it is particularly desirable for there to be a provision of a cosmetic or toiletry formulation having a skin desensitizing effect, so as to mask local skin irritation arising from mechanical depilation. By providing a cosmetic formulation in the form of a lotion or cream, which has appreciable shelf life and which is stable during storage, the present invention places at the hands of the user an economical cosmetic preparation which can be generally obtained off-the-shelf--in much the same manner as cosmetics or toilet preparations generally.